Influential mathematician Marshall Stone gained fame not only for his research synthesizing concepts in analysis, algebra and topology, but also for his tireless work to reshape the teaching of mathematics across the globe.
Stone, who earned a doctorate in mathematics from Harvard, is credited with helping to modernize mathematics. He published numerous papers during his career and proved several theorems.
”Simply stated, Professor Stone was one of the greatest American mathematicians of this century,” Larry N. Mann, head of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Massachusetts, where Stone was professor emeritus, told The New York Times in 1989 when Stone died.
In addition to his work at Harvard, Yale and Columbia universities, Stone was chairman of the mathematics department at the University of Chicago from 1945 to 1952. The university had lured him from Harvard with the request that he rebuild the once-proud mathematics department that had languished during World War II. The task, though monumental, proved no contest for Stone’s vision and tireless work.
Stone later took the helm of the International Mathematicians Union in 1952 and helped revitalized that group as well.
By Robert Warren
